A Midsummer Night's Dream
by Melantha A
Summary: Two lovers running away, two lovers chasing. Two lovers fighting and one man screwing it all up! Based on Shakespeare's play, inspired by the ballet...[SasuSaku NaruHina NejiTenten ShikaIno AsumaKurenai]
1. Act I scene i

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Introduction: Alright, I'm dead serious. Naruto…to the script of Midsummer Night's Dream. I'm really not insane. XD I was watching Boston Ballet performing MND and I was just struck at how well you could fit the Naruto characters into the script. I do have to warn you about some mild OOC. But I had to change things to fit the storyline. And I don't think you need to have read MND to understand the fic, but it might make it a bit more interesting…or it won't matter at all. ::shrugs:: It also might be better if you hadn't…I might have changed a couple things, just to fit all the different characters and pairings into it…sorry! Anywho…cast list!

Casting (In No Order At All)

Theseus: Asuma

Hippolyta: Kurenai

Egeus: Gai

Hermia: Haruno Sakura

Lysander: Uchiha Sasuke

Demetrius: Uzumaki Naruto

Helena: Hyuuga Hinata

Robin (Puck): Rock Lee

Oberon: Hyuuga Neji

Titania: Tenten

Nick Bottom: Inuzuka Kiba

Peter Quince: Aburame Shino

Francis Flute: Replaced by Yamanaka Ino (No she's not a guy in this story…I just ran out of guys to play mechanicals…)

Robin Starveling: Kankuro

Tom Snout: Gaara

Snug: Akimichi Chouji

Understudy: Nara Shikamaru (This is where I start stretching things to get pairings in)

Audience Member: Temari (Again, nowhere in the original play)

?: Hatake Kakashi (Because he's so bloody awesome, I just couldn't leave him out)

And so, I case anyone's still in the dark the pairings are: SasukeSakura; NarutoHinata; ShikamaruIno; NejiTenten; AsumaKurenai. Yeah…Okay, sorry for the long author's note, they won't be as long in other chapters, promise.

One last thing: I don't own Naruto (Masato Kishimoto does, the lucky bastard), nor do I own Midsummer Night's Dream (William Shakespeare does, the lucky dead bastard). Also, special thanks to Boston Ballet Company for performing the ballet that inspired the writing of this crazy fic.

Happy Reading! XD

Act I; Scene i

Ay me, for aught I could ever read

Could ever hear by tale of history

The course of love never did run smooth…

-Lysander to Hermia

_Such romance. _Kurenai found herself thinking with a sigh. But she smiled. As long as she was with Asuma.

_Such romance. _Asuma found himself thinking with a sigh. But he stroked a stray wavy brown hair behind Kurenai's ear.

"Sorry." He said, kissing the top of her head. Their date plans had been interrupted, yet again, because their students had been practicing jutsus-and arguing- a bit too close to the Hokage's headquarters. So they sat in an abandoned classroom after yelling for a good long time at their errant students.

"It's fine." Kurenai said truthfully. "At least we're alone. It's finally quiet, and Hokage-sama is going to take care of the genin."

"That is a plus." Asuma said, kissing Kurenai softly on the lips. Kurenai wrapped her arms around his neck. This was the only thing that really mattered. Not where they were. Not what they were supposed to be doing. Just the soft touch of each others' flesh, pure happiness.

The moment was shattered when Maito Gai burst into the abandoned classroom, clearly looking for them.

"The horror! The horror!" He yelled. Asuma and Kurenai jumped apart, landing several feet from each other. Kurenai felt like she was drowning in disappointment. Asuma groaned, rolling his eyes at their overdramatic comrade.

"Don't you ever knock?" He said, his mouth twitching in annoyance. Gai continued his horror rant.

"What is it, Gai?" Kurenai said, moderately concerned. A look from Asuma's eyes told the rookie jounin that there was nothing to fear. He knew which of Gai's expressions were worrisome and which were trivial.

"It's the saddest moment in this springtime of youth!" He cried.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Kurenai said, coming to stand next to Asuma. Gai composed himself.

"Sasuke has finally admitted that he love Sakura! They are now…dating." He said the last word with a look of horror typical of informing colleagues of the death of one of their own. Kurenai and Asuma exchanged a look of confusion.

"But…Gai…why is that so horrible?" Kurenai asked him. Gai sighed.

"They are not meant to be together! And it is going to break poor Lee's heart!" He said, wiping a tear from his eye. "This must be stopped! Where is Kakashi?" He said, looking around the room as if Kakashi would materialize from the shadows.

"He's on a mission." Kurenai said. Asuma had long stopped paying attention. "He won't be back until morning." Gai launched one of his nice guy poses.

"Well then!" He called. "I shall be the one to stop this inappropriate union!" Sasuke and Sakura chose this moment to enter the room. They held hands, looking comfortable in each other's presence for once. Kurenai sympathized with the young pair.

"Um…not to be rude, Gai-sensei," Sakura said in a polite tone. "Um…but…"

"Why were you screaming at us?" Sasuke finished for her. His dark black eyes questioned the three jounin with a sharp stare. Gai pointed an accusatory finger at them.

"You can't be together! It cannot be! There is no way I'll allow it!" He shouted. "They agree with me!" He said, indicating Asuma and Kurenai.

"Let's leave us out of this one." Asuma said, watching with growing interest now.

"Why do you care if we're together?" Sasuke said boldly. "There's no way you can stop it." Gai looked faint.

"Alas! You are already degenerating!" He cried. "I may be too late!" He said with enough melodrama to rival that of an afternoon soap opera. Sakura's nose twitched. Naruto burst through the door.

"How could you do this to me!?!" He shouted at his teammates. "Sakura! Why are you with him!?! Can't you see you're not meant to be together! Haven't I proven that I love you?" Gai came to stand behind the very annoyed Uzumaki.

"Now here's a youth who's thinking clearly!" He said with a grand smile. Sasuke's hand tightened around Sakura's, who squeezed back reassuringly.

"Really, Naruto?" Sasuke said with an evil smirk. "I clearly remember you coming to me after training just two weeks ago.'Sasuke! I think I'm falling for Hinata! I never noticed her before, but all of a sudden, she's becoming more and more…visible. What am I going to do?'" He said in a voice mocking that of his teammate.

"I told you that in private!" Naruto shouted. "You weren't supposed to repeat that!"

"You know, I gathered that I wasn't supposed to repeat it when you said it was private, dobe." Sasuke said. Naruto was turning a vivid red color. "The more interesting question is who do you really love? Hinata or Sakura?"

"I love Sakura!" He declared. Sasuke scowled.

"Well, sorry but so do I and you are not going to get her away from me." Naruto opened his mouth to scream but was interrupted by Sakura.

"Stop it." She said evenly. "Naruto, I'm sorry but you know how I feel about Sasuke, how I've always felt. I'm so sorry, you're one of my good friends, you're my teammate, but I'm in love with Sasuke, I always have been, I think I always will be." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." She said again. Naruto's fists were shaking. Gai opened his mouth to speak, departing on a long rant on how Sasuke and Sakura should never be together. The mood in the room had swiftly turned from one of mild annoyance to a hostile environment. The three jounin knew of the horrific fights Naruto and Sasuke had gotten in previously and would rather not destroy two parts of the Ninja Academy in one day.

"Okay." Asuma said in a booming voice. "Let's all just cool down for a minute." He said, breaking the tension.

"Here's what's going to happen." Kurenai said calmly. "I want all of you to go home." She told them. "Separately. We're going to put this on ice for the night. Kakashi will be back in the morning and he will deal with any issues the three of you have in the morning. And he'll probably deal with you too, Gai." The four looked sheepish, and mildly angered at being spoken to as if they were five. Yet, they listened to Kurenai. They left the academy, going their separate ways, not looking at each other. Sasuke and Sakura gave one last hand squeeze before going to their separate homes. Asuma sighed.

"They're gone." He said with relief. "You would think at least Gai would be mature enough to handle this on his own." He grabbed Kurenai, wrapping his hands around her waist. "Now, where were we?" He said, pulling her into a kiss.

An hour or so later, Sakura was perched on the bench that had swiftly became known as Their Bench. She leaned back against the wall, gazing up at the cloudless sky. Footsteps alerted her to a familiar presence.

"I didn't think you would listen to them either." Sakura said as Sasuke sat down on the bench next to her.

"I don't care what they say." He was with a defiant look. Sakura sighed, looking at the ground.

"You know, I thought getting here was the hard part." She looked up at the tops of the trees with a grim look. "But us being together is harder than fighting for you." Sasuke frowned and Sakura immediately became nervous. She knew that look. Sasuke had a plan.

"Maybe we should just get out of here for the night. I don't want to have to deal with Naruto and Gai."

"But where would we go?" Sakura asked.

"Just into the forest for a few hours. Just to get them to leave us alone." Sakura smiled.

"That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea." She said. Timid footsteps grew closer. Sakura turned to find Hinata looking morose. "Hey, Hinata. What's wrong?" She asked when she saw the girl was close to tears.

"It's nothing." Hinata said quickly, turning to go. "Um…Do you know where Naruto is?" She asked timidly. "I thought I would find him…with you two." Sasuke shook his head.

"No. If you haven't heard, he's sort of mad at us." Hinata nodded.

"I did hear. Congratulations." She said, studying the ground intensely. "Um…Thanks anyways." _And I though Naruto was finally starting to notice me…_

"Hey, Hinata…" Sakura said, taking pity on her fellow genin. "Sasuke and I are going to get out of the village for a while." Sasuke caught on to Sakura's plan.

"Yeah, that's perfect." He said, with a glance at Sakura's threatening look. "You can use the time when Sakura's not around to get Naruto to fall for you. Get him of our backs…" Sakura smiled approvingly. Hinata nodded.

"I'm sure you can win him over." Sakura said with a sweet smile. "Good luck!" She and Sasuke rose, Hinata sitting on their now vacant bench.

"Why the look? I was going to be encouraging…" Hinata distinctly heard Sasuke said as they walked away towards the edge of town. She sighed, alone. The wind rustled the leaves, pulling at her hair and clothes. _How am I ever going to get Naruto to like me? I can't even talk to him…_A sudden image of Sakura popped into her head. _I hate to admit it but…I'm jealous of Sakura. She's so confident. Naruto is so in love with her. He'll never fall in love with me. _Just as these thoughts were running through her mind, the very person she thought about came bounding up, stopping to pant in front of where Hinata sat on her bench.

"Hinata!" Naruto said, spotting her. "I need to know where Sasuke and Sakura are! Do you have an idea where they went?" He gasped. Hinata slowly turned red. _I shouldn't tell him. They only want to be alone. But maybe if I tell him, he'll be grateful. And he might like me just a little more… _

"Um…I think they went…into the forest." She said softly. Even as the words crossed her lips she felt ashamed at betraying a friend's trust. Naruto smiled.

"Thanks Hinata! I'm going to win back Sakura, if it's the last thing I do!" He called, bounding down the same path Sasuke and Sakura had just walked down. Hinata felt herself close to tears again. _Even when I helped him, he didn't really see me. _She thought miserably. _Why does he love Sakura so much? She was always so hung up on Sasuke's every word. Even when he told her he hated her she still chased after him, never knowing when to give up. _A light went on in Hinata Hyuuga's mind. _I have to be…forceful. I can't take no for an answer. I'm going to win back Naruto, if it's the last thing I do! _She stood up, hands balling into fists.

"Naruto!" She called to nothing. "You will love me! No more shy Hinata. I'm going to be…confident!" She started down the path. "Wait up!" She called, breaking into a run as she finally found her voice.

(A/N: Okay, I know this chapter's not as funny or exciting as it could be, but don't blame me. Blame Shakespeare! XP Next chapter is really funny, I promise. You get to find out what happened to the Academy…Hehehe…)


	2. Act I scene ii

Well, I'm back. I can't say I wasn't slightly disappointed with the lack of reviews…Thanks to sugar cookie for reviewing! And there will be a bit of ShikaIno, but they're not one of the main pairings. If you noticed, I sort of made up parts for them so I could get that in there. Anyways, I do agree last chapter was sort of boring. It was a lot of exposition and getting the different characters into the storylines. This chapter is a bit funnier. And crackish…Lol.

Please, please review! I'm still going to post the whole thing because I already have it written. And I worked really hard on it, rereading Midsummer Night's Dream and doing the outlines. ::puppy face::

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Act I; Scene ii

"I can't believe this is our punishment." Kankuro whined as he gazed at the stack of very embarrassing scripts.

"I don't know why I'm here." His terrifying younger brother said.

"Hey, you helped destroy the academy too!" Kiba accused, suddenly falling quiet at Gaara's murderous look. "Anyways, Tsunade-sama is not going to ease up, so let's just get it over with." He said, inching away from the quite frightening demon vessel. "I'M in charge!" He declared.

"Excuse me, but you're the one who bright idea it was to challenge Kankuro so close to the Academy." Shino said quietly. His dark hazel eyes flashed above his glasses as he cast a sidelong glare at Chouji, who was chomping down on chips.

"But Chouji was the one who knocked down the wall when he tried to stop us!"

"You guys would have destroyed it if you had kept fighting! Especially with Gaara making all that sand move around."

"Both of you…SHUT UP!" Shino's eye twitched. The two sand siblings just watched as the genin from Konoha began to argue.

"This. Sucks." Kankuro said with a sigh.

"Again you master the understatement." Gaara growled. "But we should stop this, before we destroy another building. I could crush them all…" Kankuro felt a shiver pass down his spine.

"No, no, no Gaara." He said frantically. "Death bad, life good." Gaara nodded with wide eyes.

"Death. Bad." He mumbled. "Life. Good."

"Okay!" Kankuro said. "Like Kiba said, there is no way we're going to get out of this, so stop screaming at each other." He sighed. "Shino's in charge. He's the only one who seems to have any sense in this village." Kiba growled. Shino nodded, picking up the stack of plays, flipping through them.

"These plays are awful." He said at long last. "This one seems moderately okay. There's no humiliation…if we play our cards right." The others looked at him strangely as he pulled out a copy of _Pyramus and Thisbe. _"The only thing is…"

"What!?!" Kiba shouted, grabbing the script from him. "Give me that!" His eyes widened. "This…this is a ROMANCE!!!" He shouted, throwing it across the room as if it were made of fire.

"What else are we supposed to do?" Kankuro said, flipping through the rest of the plays. "Do you really want to put on a rendition of _Little Bo Peep? _Or…_The Happy Sunshine Adventures of the Happy Sunshine crew." _Kiba shook his head.

"Well, we need a girl." Chouji declared through a mouthful of food.

"Of course, that's why I said we need to play our cards right. We need a girl."

"We need a girl!" Kiba shouted, as if he hadn't heard his teammate. "Okay, everyone split off and find the kunoichi on your team! Meet back here when you find them." Shino glared at him.

"I thought I was supposed to be in charge?" He said quietly as they exited the house and started off towards the Hyuuga complex in search of Hinata. Kankuro shook his head at their retreating backs.

"I hope they don't destroy anything else today." He said, sighing heavily. "Come on, Gaara. Let's get THIS over with." He said, putting a hand on his brother's shoulders and leading him towards their impending doom.

A little while later Shino and Kiba found Gaara and Kankuro, the latter nursing a gushing nose.

"She punched me in the face." He answered the other's questioning looks. "My own sister broke my friggin' nose."

"That means no." Gaara clarified. Kiba nodded.

"We couldn't find Hinata ANYWHERE!" He said. "We even asked Neji, who is supposed to know where she is. And we asked him if we could borrow Tenten, but when we told him what it was for he suddenly got mad and stormed away. I will never understand that guy…" Shino sighed at his oblivious teammate.

"Sakura's also disappeared." Shino said in an undertone.

"I guess our only hope is that Chouji." Kankuro said. Chouji chose that moment to walk down the street.

In his wake, walked Ino.

"Thank _God._" Kankuro said. "If Ino didn't do it…one of us…would have to play…Thisbe." He shivered at the very thought.

"I cannot believe you would tell my father _that!" _She said, repulsed. "Fine, I'll be in your stupid play!" She said to Kiba.

"I'm in charge." Shino said quietly.

"I can't believe I agreed to this!" Ino complained as they walked back to Shino's house. Her very voice grated on the five boys' ears.

The real fun started when they were sitting in a circle, attempting to cast the play.

"I want to be the lion! No, I want to be Thisbe's father! No, I want to be Pyramus's father!" Shino's eye twitched.

"You know what? You're so great, be Pyramus." Shino said, with the proper dose of sarcasm. _Ha, my master plan has worked. _Kiba thought with an evil grin. Shino sighed.

Arguments raged. Finally, after what seemed hours, all the parts were cast.

"Okay, Ino's Thisbe, Kiba's Pyramus, I'm Thisbe's father, Kankuro is Thisbe's mother,"

"NOT FAIR!! NOT FAIR I TELL YOU!!!" He yelled, indignant.

"You want to go ask your sister to be in it again? Hell, you could ask my sister. She might eat you…" Kiba said with a smirk.

"I SAVED YOUR LIFE!" Kankuro shouted. "NOW I'M BEGINNING TO REGRET IT!"

"Quiet…" Shino said, restoring calm with a little help from Gaara who merely cast a glance in the arguing two's direction. Ino rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Anyways…Gaara is Pyramus's father and the wall, and Chouji is the lion."

"I'm not going to be a very good lion." Chouji moaned. "I'm never going to remember my lines." He said with despair. _That's surprising you sure eat like a lion. _Ino found herself thinking. But she had a soft spot for her less than skinny teammate.

"Aw, it's going to be okay, Chouji." She said with a smile. "There's only one line. All you have to do is growl. Unlike me." Despair flooded her as she thought about her own role. "I'm going to have to kiss KIBA!"

"You think I want to kiss you!?" Kiba retorted. Yes, yes he did.

"Would you both stop complaining?" Gaara said in a very scary voice. "It's beginning to get on my nerves…" The arguing ceased, reaffirming Gaara's strange power over the group.

"Okay…" Kiba said authoritatively. "We need to find a place to practice where _no one can see us._" Shino didn't even bother pointing out the fact that he was in charge.

"How about we go into the forest?" Ino suggested. "Later on tonight. No one is crazy enough to be out there at night."

"Except us…" Kankuro pointed out. He was still quite wary of the dark, tall forests. He didn't like not seeing the sky. Ino ignored him.

"So are we in agreement." It was suddenly clear who the new leader of the group was. "I said ARE WE IN AGREEMENT!" The five boys had no choice but to nod, terrified of the blonde that reigned over them. _Oh, God. _Kankuro thought. _She's worse than Temari!_


	3. Act II scene i

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Sorry for the wait. Was being stupid for anyone else? Gr, I'm still not getting email alerts. Anyways, this chapter's pretty short. So sorry! And my brother laughed pretty hard when I told him that Neji was the king of the fairies…

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Act II; scene I

Tenten crept around the corner, making as little sounds as she could. Since she was a shinobi, this translated into her being completely and utterly silent. She caught sight of him.

He was…_perfect. _His shiny hair was the absolute perfect shade of red. He was muscular, probably resulting from years of training. His jet black cloak dusted the streets of Konoha, leaving behind a batch of brand new fangirls waiting to worship him.

Tenten, admittedly, was fast becoming one of those fangirls. He laughed at something his twin sister said. To Tenten's ears, it was the most wonderful sound on the planet. Everything came second to it, including her old favorite voice, which now popped out at her from the shadows.

"What are you doing?" Neji Hyuuga asked Tenten simply. She jumped a mile. Just her luck, the one she had been _seeing ::hint:: _had to sneak up on her when she was being entranced by the male sibling of the two twin shinobi who had just moved to Konoha. She laughed shrilly, buying herself time as Neji's all seeing eyes pierced her through and through.

"I was just hanging out, you know…" She giggled again. "Ah…What are you doing here?" Neji shrugged.

"I was…looking for Hinata. And you. Kiba and Shino were looking for one of you to be in a play or something. I…politely declined." Tenten shook her head.

"Oh, Neji, you didn't hurt them, did you? I don't think Hinata would be very pleased." Neji sighed.

"No, I didn't hurt them. I really can't find Hinata though, have you seen her?" Tenten shook her head.

"But why would you be looking for her here? She never comes to this side of Konoha." Tenten mused, frowning. Another crystalline laugh sounded from the yard where the new comers sat. This one was female, but just as stunningly beautiful as her male counterpart's. Neji remained expressionless but Tenten knew her boyfriend better than anyone. She gasped. "You like her!" She accused. Neji was taken aback.

"N-No!" He stuttered. Tenten didn't believe him for a second.

"Come on! You should have seen your eyes when she laughed!"

"What about you? You were sneaking around, behind my back, just to spy on that guy!"

"That's not fair, Neji!" Their voices rose as the argument swelled, anger increasing as the topics shifted from the pair outside of their sight to topics closer to home.

"I can't talk about anything with you!" Tenten shouted. "You tie everything I say back to your stupid family! You know what Neji, get over it. Your father died almost ten years ago! Why don't you get over yourself already and stop whining about!" They both knew Tenten had gone too far. Neji turned away from her shaking.

Silence.

The silence almost crushed them as they both started to cool down.

"Neji?" Still silence. "Neji, I am so sorry." Tenten walked up to him. He still did not turn around. "Neji, come on." She placed her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. He didn't pull away from her, but he didn't acknowledge her presence either. "I am so sorry. I said something I shouldn't have. And I am so sorry." Neji sighed.

"Yeah, I know." He said. "We were fighting, things like that happen in a fight." Tenten smiled.

"So…will you meet me in the training fields tonight, like always?" Neji frowned.

"Sorry Tenten but no." He said. "I…I can't be with someone when I'm this mad." He said, obviously remembering when he almost killed his cousin in a temper. Tenten stepped back, hurt crossing over her face before her training buried it deep inside herself.

"Oh." She said in a tight voice. "Yeah, I understand. I'll…I'll see you later, Neji." She walked away, leaving her teammate trembling and fighting his anger. As Tenten was walked away, Lee entered from the other side of the alley.

"ETERNAL RIVAL!" Lee shouted. "Were you and Tenten arguing?!? That is not youthful Neji!!!" Neji was thinking, completely ignoring his 'eternal rival'.

"I need revenge…" He mused. "She just can't say something like…like that and get away with it." He took deep breaths, trying and failing to calm himself down.

"You're not going to hurt her, right?" Lee asked tentatively. "You must be loyal to your teammates!" Neji shook her head.

"Of course I wouldn't hurt her. Just a little revenge…" Lee smiled.

"I have a suggestion!" He declared proudly. Neji just looked at him, waiting for the answer he knew he did not need to ask for. "The great Gai-sensei told me about this flower. It is deep in the southern forest of Konoha. When the pollen is spread over a sleeping person's eyelids, they fall in love with the first person they see!" Neji looked mildly interested.

"A form of genjutsu?" Lee nodded frantically. The Hyuuga frowned, contemplating. "I think I've heard of this before…Is there a play or something about this?" Lee scratched his head.

"I don't know. I've never heard of it." Neji shrugged, pushing it to the back of his mind. Neji thought for a moment, weighing the consequences. "Okay, let's do it. But I have to find my cousin, or my family might kill me. So, meet me in the forest at sunset with it." Lee nodded.

"I will do my best!" He proclaimed proudly. Neji nodded, partially ignoring his teammate as the overexcited genin dashed to the forest.

"Now, where have you gone, Hinata?" He said, setting out to find his errant cousin.


	4. Act II scene ii

A/N: So next chapter. XD Sorry for the wait, was being evil again and wouldn't let me update stories. AGAIN::rolls eyes:: And computers are supposed to make life easier. Anyways, this is where we start to get insanely OOC. But it's supposed to be like that! He's under a spell! (For people who don't know the play, you'll see. ::winks::)

Happy Reading! XD

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Act II; scene ii

The sun was dipping below the horizon as Neji leaned against the tree in the clearing he had promised to meet Lee. He sighed, bored. Lee was taking a long time, and the Hyuuga was impatient to get his revenge on Tenten. And so, he started counting birds with the byakugan, an old hobby of his, until two human bodies caught his gaze. Before they entered the clearing he hid himself behind a tree, definitely not wanting to talk to the Naruto, who would just annoy him with his overly energetic manner, or Hinata, who would certainly convince him not to go through with his plan.

"Hinata, would you just go home!" Naruto was yelling. Hinata followed him, shaking her head, for once not stuttering.

"Naruto wait! Just listen to me!" She begged.

"No! I don't have time for that right now! Stupid Sasuke and Sakura! They're supposed to be my teammates! I can't believe how awful they're being! They're horrible friends!" He said, without realizing how awful of a friend _he _was being that night. Neji scowled at the boy. He always _knew _that Hinata was insane for liking this crass, annoying brat._ Maybe Naruto will finally say too much, and Hinata will move on with her life._ Neji thought hopefully. But in the clearing, Hinata was still begging for Naruto to listen to her.

"Naruto please!"

"I wished you had just stayed in the village!" He shouted before storming off in search of his teammates. Hinata paused a minute, pushing back the tears, before chasing after him. Neji dropped down from the trees, angry enough to kill for the second time that day.

"I guess if she's that determined…" He thought. "By the end of this night, Naruto will be the one chasing Hinata." He mumbled, taking pity on his lovesick cousin. As he finished his spiteful declaration, Lee joined him.

"Neji! I finally found the flower!" He said, holding up a pale pink flower with large, droopy petals. Neji nodded.

"You sure this will work?" He asked. Lee nodded.

"The information was given to me by Gai-sensei! How can it be wrong?" This time, Neji just ignored his teammate. He plucked a petal from the flower.

"Okay. I'll go use this on Tenten. I want you to go use it and make Naruto fall in love with Hinata." He started to walk away. "Don't mess this up." He said in his most threatening voice. Lee nodded.

"You can count on me, Neji!"

Tenten sat against a tree, glaring at the dummy she had been practicing with as if she was trying to set it on fire. She was off that night. Her training started normally, with her hitting every mark perfectly. But then she started thinking about her fight with Neji, and she started getting sloppier. And then she got really mad. Her latest round of kunai throwing found most of the kunai hitting the dummies around the eyes…

The weapons mistress looked up at the moon. It was full, casting a strange light over the abandoned training fields. Against her will, she found herself drifting off to sleep.

Neji dropped down in front of her when he was certain she was asleep. He had been watching her as her own anger increased and her practice had become more…sadistic. He nearly lost his nerve at the sight of her peaceful face, the light glinting off it preternaturally. But he swallowed his doubt, dabbing the pollen on her eyelids.

It was nearly midnight. The moon was high overhead as Sasuke and Sakura walked innocently through the forest, not knowing of the three who pursued them.

"It's so quiet out here at night." Sakura said in little more than a whisper. Sasuke nodded.

"It's a good thing it's a full moon tonight." The pair came to a small clearing. Sakura longed to sit for a minute, since they had been wandering through the forest since that afternoon when they left the village.

"Maybe we should rest for a minute…" She said. Sasuke nodded.

"Sure. It must be midnight already." He sat down, leaning against a tree, beckoning to Sakura. "As long as we don't fall asleep." He said as Sakura rested her head in his lap. He stroked her pink hair. Despite what he had said, the girl was asleep in minutes. Sasuke smiled, choosing not to wake her_. It's fine if I'm awake. And I don't want to disturb her._ He thought with a yawn_. I just can't fall asleep. _

Three minutes later he did just that, falling asleep against the trunk of the tree. His eyes had barely closed when Lee happened upon them.

"Now…what was it Neji wanted me to do?" He thought. Unfortunately he had been distracted by a bird when Neji was giving him instructions. He shrugged. "I guess Neji wanted me to make Sasuke fall in love with Hinata…he's the only other guy in the forest." So Lee spread the pollen from the flower over Sasuke's eyelids. "I should move Sakura-chan, lest the pollen makes Sasuke fall in love with her!" Lee was missing a lot. So he gently picked Sakura up, carrying her to another clearing.

In another part of the forest, Naruto crashed through the underbrush, still pursuing Sasuke and Sakura. He was obviously doing this very poorly, since they had stopped moving quite some time ago. Hinata chased after him, doing a much better job.

"Naruto, please listen to me!" Hinata begged Naruto. "Just talk to me!" Naruto whirled around, causing Hinata to bump into him.

"Hinata, you're the one who's not listening to me! You're so obnoxious," An adjective that truly applied to himself. "I can't believe you picked now to _have _to talk to me. I wish you didn't follow me. I wish you would just leave me alone!" He threw Hinata off of him, not even caring when she hit the ground hard.

"Naruto…" She said quietly.

"Don't follow me anymore!" Naruto said, leaving her alone.

"Naruto…I'm afraid of the dark, please don't leave me here…" Naruto left her anyways, leaving her in the forest with only the pale moonlight as comfort. The tears flowed freely now. Hinata sat on the forest floor, sobbing. Subconsciously, her shinobi instincts kicked in when a tree branch cracked somewhere close by. She got to her feet, still sobbing and began stumbling through the trees.

Hinata barely kept on her feet, completely lost in the forest. In time she would calm down and find her way out, she was a ninja after all, her subconscious reasoned. But for now, it was a staggering path through the woods. This staggering path eventually betrayed her and she tripped over something out of her sight. She picked her self up, wiping the tears from her cheeks. A gasp escaped her lips when she saw what-or who-it was.

"S-Sasuke?" She questioned as the body she tripped over rose, groaning. Sasuke blinked rapidly for a moment, his eyes finally resting on Hinata.

"Hinata." He said evenly. "You know, I've never noticed how beautiful your eyes are." Hinata was frozen in shock for a moment.

"Excuse me?" She said incredulously. Sasuke frowned.

"Hinata…I think I love you. No, I definitely love you." Sasuke said with all sincerity. "You're the love of my life!" He declared, stars eerily similar to Lee in his eyes.

"WHAT?" Hinata said loudly. "N-no, you don't love me! What about Sakura? Just this afternoon…you guys were so in love…" Sasuke shook his head.

"Sakura who? She is nothing to me. The world revolves around you_!" This is just getting too damn creepy_. Hinata thought to herself. Uchiha Sasuke very rarely displayed emotion. Hinata doubted he had been so outward about his feelings to Sakura. Yet here he was, declaring undying love for a girl he barely noticed before this moment.

"Um, I don't think…I mean…" Hinata was so confused that she couldn't get out a coherent sentence. "I should go." She said, her default answer. She scrambled to her feet, dashing out of the clearing.

"Hinata! Wait!" He chased after her. "You can't just deny our love!"

At about the time Sasuke was first declaring his love for another woman, Sakura was awakening in a place she did not recognize. She calmed herself down, shinobi instincts kicking in.

"Okay Sakura," She said to herself. "You just need to think. Calm down, and think." She glanced around her. "Where the hell is Sasuke? I hope he hasn't…left…me…" Her heart pounded as she brought up the forbidden thought. She spent much of her time trying not to think of Sasuke leaving at all, as it brought up terrible memories. Even now it was enough nearly to induce a severe panic attack. "Sasuke!" She called, trembling. Sakura scrambled to her feet. She got her bearings and started to walk through the forest, close to tears. "Oh God Sasuke, don't leave me again!"


	5. Act III scene i

A/N: Heyy, I'm back. Omg, is it hot in Boston or what? I'm like dying over here. Anyways, here's the latest chapter of Midsummer Night's Dream. I don't remember when I last updated, but I think it was a while ago, so sorry for the wait. Or if it was recently, I don't need to apologize. Haha, I keep seeing the little freshmen walking around with their No Fear Shakespeare for a Midsummer Night's Dream. And then I laugh. XD Happy Reading!

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Act III; scene I

"Keep up!" Ino shouted back at the guys as the climbed the hill to the empty training grounds. Ino was pushed far ahead of her fellow cast members, desperately wanting to get this over with. She reached the field far before the guys, sitting on a spare dummy and staring up at the moon until they reached her.

"How do you walk so fast, Ino?" Kiba said, panting as he reached her. Akamaru sprung out of his coat and sat himself next to Ino, curling into a ball and falling asleep.

"I wish I could do that…" Kankuro said mournfully.

"What's worse? Losing a couple hours of sleep or having the others in the village seeing us practice this stupid play?" Shino put into perspective.

"Losing a couple hours of sleep…"Chouji said, sitting down on the ground hard.

"I don't care." Gaara said, following Ino's gaze to the moon. "Let's just get this over with."

"Okay," Ino said, opening her script. "There's a couple other things we need…but I think we can work it out."

"What else do we need?" Shino asked her.

"A wall…" She said. Gaara suddenly felt every eye on him.

"No." He said. "No, no, no, no, no." He said, sitting on the grass and crossing his arms. "I will NOT use the sand like that."

"Come on, Gaara," Kankuro said. "It's the best way to make a wall without looking like complete idiots."

"I will NOT use the sand like that." He repeated. Kiba practically growled.

"Then what good are you?!?" He shouted at the sand-nin, who looked positively murderous.

"Oh I would not do that if I were you…" Kankuro said, backing away slowing.

"Kiba, if he doesn't want to use his powers for our stupid play we can't make him." Shino said exasperatedly.

"But…in any case…HE NEEDS TO BE THE FRICKIN WALL!!!"

Ino and Chouji sat back and watched as the argument escalated.

"Don't worry, Chouji." Ino said, leaning back to gaze at the stars. "Kiba just gets testy when he doesn't get his beauty sleep." She said spitefully.

"WELL FINE! YOURE ALL FRICKIN IDIOTS ANYWAYS!!" Kiba shouted, storming off into the forest. No one bothered to go after him.

Meanwhile Neji was calmly walking through the underbrush, trying to think up the perfect thing for Tenten to fall in love with. He was thinking more along the lines of a rabbit, or deer or something when Kiba happened upon his trail, murmuring murderously.

"Stupid play. It wasn't even my fault we had to do this stupid thing…okay it sort of was my fault…they're still idiots!" He said to Akamaru, who was peeking out from under his jacket, as usual. Neji smiled to himself. Kiba was perfect. Not only was he an awful thing to be in love with, Tenten would actually see him after tonight, and be reminded of this revenge.

"It's perfect…with one small adjustment…" He mumbled to himself. His slender hands swiftly formed well known seals, and the genjutsu unfolded itself around Kiba. As the wind of the illusion swirled, Kiba was combined with Akamaru. Neji was extremely pleased with his handiwork.

Kiba had his normal body, his normal mind, but his head was Akamaru's. He blinked a couple times, barked, and headed off to the forest, having lost track of what he was doing.

"Okay, I might have affected his mind a little bit…" Neji murmured, as Kiba/Akamaru narrowly avoided hitting a tree. "But it will wear off when I remove the illusion…hopefully…"

"Where is the hell is Kiba?" Ino asked, in a huff.

"He definitely should have returned by now." Chouji said worriedly.

"Don't worry about it." Shino said. "He's probably just gone home, like he does every other time we fight. It's really no big deal." He shrugged.

"Then we should follow his example." Kankuro said with a yawn. "It's not like we're going to get anything done without the boss over there." His mouth twitched as he heard Shino mumble something that sounded vaguely like 'I'm the boss'. Gaara rose to his feet.

"You can use the sand for the play, if you want." He said to Shino. Ino gaped at him.

"Seriously? That easy? And we had to watch them fight for a half an hour, why?" Gaara smirked, something none of them thought was possible.

"It was funny…" He said, walking away. A very disturbed Kankuro followed his brother reluctantly. The other three were so unsettled that they remained at the training fields for another hour, just so they wouldn't meet Gaara on his way home.

In the other training field, just a fourth of a mile away from the ill-fated play rehearsal, Tenten woke up with a start.

"Damn," She mumbled. "I hate falling asleep outside like this. I thought I was in bed…I hate being surprised like this." She got to her feet, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She began to slowly walk through the forest towards her house. Before long, she came across Kiba/Akamaru. He was sitting on a large root of a tree, complaining to himself. He jumped a little at her intrusion.

"Oh, it's just you, Tenten." Akamaru's mouth said in Kiba's voice. "Sorry, you just startled me. I was out here with Shino, Ino, Chouji, and two of the three sand siblings. But they're being so stupid. We have to-"

"Don't talk." Tenten said suddenly. Kiba raised his eyebrows at her.

"Why not?" Tenten felt her cheeks go hot.

"Because I love you…" She said dreamily. Kiba was taken aback for a minute.

"Oh…" He said. A triumphant smile crossed his face. "Cool…"


	6. Act III scene ii

A/N: So here's the new chapter! Sorry for the wait, but I broke my laptop's power cord and I just got a new one. Yay! This was probably the hardest chapter to write and I don't think I did a very good job…::doom:: I sorry. Oh yes! I changed my penname! Don't be disturbed, its still balletphantom…now with a kickass name! XP

* * *

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Act II; scene ii

Neji leaned against a thick tree trunk, waiting for Lee to get back. The 13 year old genius was beginning to get nervous.

"It should not have taken him this long." He mumbled. "I hope he doesn't screw this up."

Neji waited a little longer, his heart rate ever increasing as his concerns did. Just when he was about to go search for the path of destruction Lee likely left in his wake, Lee himself bounded through the tree up to him.

"NEJI!" He cried exuberantly. "VICTORY IS OURS!" He launched into a 'nice guy' pose that he no doubt learned from Gai-sensei. Neji was quite pleasantly surprised.

"You did everything I told you to? No mistakes?" Lee shook his head.

"Of course not, Neji!" He smiled. "Every one is in love with the one you said to." Footsteps interrupted the two's conversation.

"Keep your voice down!" Neji cried as he pulled Lee behind the tree, his hand clamped roughly over his mouth. Sakura and Naruto entered the clearing the second after Neji had pulled Lee out of sight.

"Naruto, I don't have time for this." She said, wringing her hands.

"But Sakura! I've been looking for you all night! You can't be with Sasuke!" Neji's eyes narrowed dangerously and he pulled Lee by his neck away from the voices of Sakura and Naruto. When they were out of earshot, he pinned Lee up against a tree roughly.

"Lee," He hissed. "WHY IS NARUTO IN LOVE WITH SAKURA?!?!"

"But…Neji…isn't that what you wanted? Naruto with Sakura and Sasuke with Hinata?" What happened next can be described only as an atomic explosion inside Neji's head.

"THAT IS NOT WHAT I WANTED AT ALL!!!" He shouted, forgetting their stealth. "I WANTED NARUTO WITH HINATA NOT SASUKE!!!" He took a deep breath. "Lee…I swear you are going to fix this or I am going. To. Kill. You. Got it?" Lee nodded frantically.

"Naruto…Hinata…" He said. "Sasuke…Sakura…"

"Good. Now we wait here for the opportune moment."

Sakura and Naruto had begun arguing.

"Naruto, I want you to tell me where Sasuke is!"

"I swear I don't know!" He insisted. "All I know is that he was with you, and I was chasing you, and then I lost you for awhile, and then he was gone!"

"Think about it! What if he's in some sort of trouble?" _What if he ran away again? _Was the unspoken thought running through their minds.

"Sasuke wouldn't…" Naruto mumbled. "I can't believe you're more concerned about Sasuke than listening to me!" He pouted. Sakura turned very, very red, compliments of her similarly colored hair.

"I AM MORE CONCERNED ABOUT SASUKE BECAUSE THAT ISSUE IS MORE PRESSING THAN YOUR LITTLE CRUSH, OKAY?" She screamed at Naruto, storming away. Naruto was shell shocked.

"Jeez…That was an overreaction." He said. "But I think I'll leave her alone…For my own personal safety." He yawned. "Man, I'm tired." And with that, he sat down on the ground, asleep in seconds. Neji emerged from the trees just after, his hand still clamped around Lee's throat.

"It's amazing how quickly these people fall asleep in the woods…" He mumbled, releasing Lee.

"What are you going to do?" He said in a low menacing voice. Lee answered with wide eyes.

"I'm going to go find Sasuke and Hinata." He said. Neji watched as he ran through the forest at full speed to find the two. Neji rolled his eyes, dabbing the juice from the flower on Naruto's eyelids.

Soon after Hinata and Sasuke came into the clearing, Lee having successfully lured them to the clearing. Sasuke was still professing his love for Hinata is a very loud voice, and Naruto woke. The first sight he saw after waking was Hinata bending over him, concern and confusion mingled on her features.

"Hinata…" He said, immediately spellbound. Neji smirked, hiding behind yet another tree with Lee. "You look really pretty in the moonlight…" She immediately blushed, pleased at being noticed by Naruto. Sasuke was not so pleased at Naruto sudden attraction.

"You're always trying to steal the people I love away from me!" He accused. Naruto and Sasuke immediately launched into an insult war that rivaled all they had had before. Hinata stood off to the sides, tears waiting to spring from her eyes.

"Would you both stop?" She said in a small, ineffective voice. Sakura appeared just behind her, finally relieved at finding Sasuke. She stood beside Hinata, rolling her eyes at her teammates' bickering.

Until she figured out what, rather who, they were arguing about.

"HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN!?!?" She shouted, making Hinata jump. The pink haired girl turned on her companion. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!?"

'W-What are you talking about?" She asked Sakura nervously.

"You must have done something! Both of them were arguing over me earlier! And now they're both in love with you?" Hinata's hands clenched into fists.

"Well maybe they got tired of your narcissism!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?" The girls began arguing with the same intensity as the boys, throwing insults at each other even faster than Naruto and Sasuke.

Neji surveyed the scene, fed up and mildly disturbed at the swear words his seemingly innocent cousin knew.

"You know what; they can all kill each other." He said, taking a step back.

"Maybe we should stop them…" Lee said. Neji shook his head.

"Let's just see where this goes…"

"THAT IS IT, HINATA HYUUGA!!!" Sakura shouted. "Let's settle this."

"I don't want to fight you, Sakura." Hinata said evenly, though she was trembling on the inside.

"BRING IT ON, HYUUGA!!"

"SAKURA I'M SERIOUS!! I'M NOT GOING TO FIGHT YOU!!" The boys now turned from their previous argument-who actually deserved Hinata- to who was going to protect her from the evil Sakura.

"HA! You couldn't protect her from a toad!" Naruto laughed. Sasuke simply smirked.

"Yeah right. You'd just annoy her to death."

"I AM SO GOING TO KILL YOU!!" The boys left the vicinity to fight one of their epic battles. Neji sighed heavily.

"Lee, you better make sure they don't kill each other." Lee nodded. "I'll stay here and make sure the girls don't do the same thing." With that Lee was gone, chasing after Sasuke and Naruto to make sure their epic fight did not turn out a repeat of previous ones.

Neji actually felt a twist of guilt starting in his stomach. In this one act of revenge-and truthfully, one act of kindness- he had pitted two pairs of friends against each other.

"I am such a screw up." He mumbled miserably.


	7. Act III scene iii

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I've been quite busy. As I will be for the next three weeks, because I'm leaving for England in like an hour! So no updates until at least July 29. After that, you can stalk me on livejournal, links on my profile. Happy Reading!

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Act III; scene iii

Hinata ran through the trees, ignoring the branches that clawed at her hair and clothes.

"I'm not going to fight you Sakura!" She screamed back at her pursuer. Sakura chased after the Hyuuga, panting slightly and sending chakra to her legs to increase her speed. Unfortunately Hinata had seemingly learned the same trick and used it with some degree of skill. Therefore, her speed matched Sakura's and the chase was yielding no results.

"HINATA! GET BACK HERE!" She cried after her prey. Hinata did not show that she had heard Sakura, and kept running.

Behind both girls ran Neji, highly disgusted with himself. He had caused this entire fiasco. It was his fault.

All because he was doing the right thing, for once.

Needless to say, Neji was very annoyed by this particular turn of events. He knew that Sasuke and Naruto needed no further prompting to try and kill each other and Sakura would never back down when she was defending Sasuke. All hope for these four was lost.

But was it?

Neji was suddenly struck by a brilliant, yet slightly crazy idea. He smirked, the half smile casting a look of superiority over his features. Without another thought he stopped in his tracks, turned on his heel and ran to find his teammate.

Lee backed away from the two boys he had been following. After a halfhearted attempt to stop their fight, he decided that it was in his best interest to keep as far away as possible.

Sasuke and Naruto were fighting quite an epic fight. They had not yet pulled out the Chidori or the rasengan but they were still doing a considerable amount of damage to the surrounding trees.

"You always want what I have. Maybe you're just jealous of me!" Sasuke shouted at his teammate as he gracefully twisted out of the way of several kunai, launching his own.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_ Why would I be jealous of you, teme!?" A thousand Narutos shouted back as they attacked.

"_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_" Sasuke took a deep breath in. Neji arrived just as the fireball obliterated Naruto's clones.

"Lee! I told you not to let them fight!" He snarled as his teammate.

"Forgive me, Neji!" Lee said with a bow. "It is not youthful to break a promise! I hate to admit it but I was slightly afraid to get between them."

"Okay, good point." Neji said, watching as Sasuke blew another fireball at Naruto. Neji smirked…again. "But I have a plan."

A minute later they were flying through the trees to the clearing where this all started. Lee's eyebrows pinched together in concentration.

"Let me get this straight…" He said. Neji twisted a little to face him, but did not slow his pace. "You turned two shadow clones into replicas of Sasuke and Naruto and ordered them to lead them back to the clearing. What about Hinata and Sakura?"

"They'll be fine. They'll try and kill each other for a little while but since neither of them is under a spell they should at least exercise some self control and stop before there are any fatalities." He said as they touched down in the clearing. "Now we just have to wait."

Sasuke stumbled into the clearing, dead on his feet. During his fight with Naruto he had used quite a bit of chakra and he had used even more of his physical energy following Naruto through the trees. There was also a slight prickling near his eyes that seemed to be draining his energy.

It was all very odd, he thought as he sat down on the ground, hard. He had been fighting Naruto when all of a sudden there was a flash and Naruto had run away from him. _The coward._ The scene before his eyes spun and he lay down before he could fall. He fell asleep immediately.

Naruto stumbled in a few minutes later, not seeing the dark lump that was Sasuke's sleeping form. He yawned, more out of boredom than physical exhaustion, since the nine tail's chakra kept him quite energetic. _I am so bored. _He thought, staring at the sky. Sasuke had vanished after that weird flash and Naruto had spent the last half hour searching the entire damn woods, following a weird disembodied voice. He sighed. _Stupid teme..._

Naruto fell asleep a few minutes later, leaning against the trunk of the tree, purely out of boredom.

Sakura and Hinata stumbled in sometime later. Both girls were exhausted and weary of their fight.

"Hinata? I'm sorry…" Sakura said as she lay down on the forest floor and fell asleep. Hinata nodded.

"I am too." She said, also drifting off to sleep. Neji stepped out of the shadows, rolling his eyes, followed by Lee. Neji slipped the flower out of his pocket, administering the antidote to Sasuke, but conspicuously leaving it on Naruto. He sighed.

"Okay. That should fix that. Now I have to find Tenten." He said to himself. He put the flower back in his pocket and started to walk out of the clearing. Lee lingered for a moment, awed by the simple solution to a problem that had seemed hopeless a minute ago. "Oh, Lee?"

"Yes Neji!" He said exuberantly. Neji smiled, not his usual smirk, but a full, evil smile.

"I am going to kick your ass later."


	8. Act IV scene i

A/N: Oh my God, I am sorry. It's been some crazy amount of time, like seven months or something. All I can say is sorry. Real life ate me. I'm back though! And I really wouldn't recommend doing this. It was really hard to get back into the story after such a long time.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Act IV; scenei

Kiba wasn't denying anything.

"I love you more than anything! We can be together forever!" Kiba had long stopped listening to Tenten as she rambled about her love, preferring to think of just how damn lucky he was. As Tenten continued professing his love, Kiba stretched his arms above his head, yawning.

"It's quite late, my darling." His dog face twisted into an attempt at a grin. "Perhaps we should retire for the night." Tenten found herself yawning as well.

"I guess that's a good idea." The pair walked to the edge of the forest, leaning against a tree. Kiba wrapped his arm around Tenten, leaning down to kiss her.

"So, what now…hey!" Kiba was extremely dismayed to realize that Tenten actually fell asleep. "Come on! I finally get a hot girl and she falls asleep!" He pouted up at the stars. "Just my luck." He yawned again, discovering he was as tired as he had previously claimed to be. "I guess…it can wait until morning." He said as he fell asleep.

"I am amazed how quickly these people fall asleep in the forest." Neji mumbled as he watched Kiba fall asleep.

"She seems to have suffered enough humiliation." Lee pointed out.

"Not that she's going to notice." Neji countered. "Only the two of us know what really happened tonight, and you do recall my earlier warning, don't you." Lee gulped.

"So, is your revenge complete?" Lee quickly changed the subject.

"Yes, this seems sufficient. I'll go take the spell off. Hopefully she won't stab me." He walked over to the pair, removing the genjutsu on Kiba. The dog's head vanished, Akamaru appearing tucked into his jacket. Lee slung him over his shoulder and vanished into the forest. Neji made sure that he was gone before he released the spell over Tenten and gently shook her awake. She blinked, bleary eyed.

"Hey, Neji." She said with a yawn. "I must have fallen asleep after training."

"Obviously." He said with a smirk. Tenten smiled.

"Thanks for coming." She threw her arms around his shoulders. "I hope you forgive me."

"No, you should forgive me." He whispered, feeling slightly guilty.

"What?" Tenten said, pulling out of the embrace. Neji resisted the urge to tell her everything, knowing that if he did he would get his ass kicked. Instead he kissed her, pulling her up and leading her towards the village as the sun began to rise on the horizon.

Kakashi chuckled, bemused. He really should be used to this by now. His students were decidedly odd. But finding all three of them plus Hinata deeply asleep in the middle of the forest. Asuma cleared his throat. The four gradually started to wake up. All were fairly confused upon finding themselves in the forest.

"Now, who wants to tell me what happened?" Kakashi said, hiding his smirk.

"Who wants to tell ME what happened?" Naruto exclaimed, glancing at his teammates.

"I'm not exactly sure…" Sakura said, thinking. "I remember coming in with Sasuke a little before sundown…"

"And I definitely followed Naruto in after that…" Hinata chimed in.

"But how did we end up together?" Sasuke wondered. Kurenai sighed exasperatedly.

"You were probably exhausted after walking around all night. Most likely that's why you can't remember." Asuma said.

"In any case, we should be getting back to the village." The four rose and started walking towards the village, Kakashi following behind.

"So, we're going to figure out the real reason for this little forest excursion later, right?" Kurenai hissed to Asuma.

"Of course. And I'm sure the reason is going to be extremely entertaining." He smirked and the two started back towards the village.

"Don't spend the night in the forest again." Kakashi warned. "You never know what might happen."


End file.
